


After all this time

by DoNotPullTheBeigeLever



Category: The Evil Within (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff but not fluff, Joseph needs to recover, Not serious angst but enough to see that they are both hurting, Sebastian and Joseph finally realise they like each other, Upset Sebastian
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-05
Updated: 2015-02-05
Packaged: 2018-03-10 15:08:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3294935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DoNotPullTheBeigeLever/pseuds/DoNotPullTheBeigeLever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After a month of Searching for Joseph, hoping that he was still alive, Sebastian is finally contacted about his whereabouts. and only then, do both men realise how much that they've missed each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	After all this time

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! I'm going to go over this soon and fix it up- there a many things that I want to improve in the story so look forward to a new and improved version soon :)

Sebastian paced around his house’s lounge room, thoughts coming fast, not getting a clear moment to think and he could not stop his fingers from twitching and entwining due to all the emotions he was feeling.

Joseph was alive.

The last he had seen of his partner was the moment of that horrible gunshot, Leslie getting away and Joseph crumpling in front of him, blood gushing out of his wound.  
He shook his head, trying to clear the images from his mind

‘God-damn it Seb, stop this now.’ He thought to himself, trying to calm down in any way possible.

All he could think about was that phone call that happened only ten minutes ago but what felt like a life time ago  
Sebastian had a fork half way to his mouth when his phone rang.  
Not noticing the caller ID, he ignored it-until it called back another three times until he finally answered.

“Hello? Sebastian Castellanos here…Who is this?”

“Mr Castellanos?” A female Voice asked over the phone… it sounded familiar, though he couldn't pick out who it was.

“Who is this?”

“I've got a message for you. I can’t tell you who I am yet, but the message is that your suspected partner, Joseph Oda is actually alive and currently under our care.”

“Are you fucking with me?”

“No, Detective.” He could practically here the voice smiling over the phone “Mr Oda, your previous partner is alive and well. I’ll have-“

“Where is he?”

“I’ll have to call you later to explain all the details after I get the go-ahead from my superior. All I can tell you is that you should await a call from me within the next hour. Please wait till I contact you before you do anything…rash”

“What-?” but before he could ask, the phone call cut off, leaving him stating at his phone in shock.

Ten minutes later, Sebastian was pacing around, dinner forgotten, and phone clutched so tightly in his hand it could have broken.

“It’s been about a month…Why now?” He asks himself angrily and finally sits down on the couch and glares at his television.  
He stays in this position for another few minutes before he desperately stands up again, needing to do something to keep his head from spinning and possibly punching a wall.

Joseph is alive.

Joseph is alive.

He walks over towards the kitchen counter, grabs a glass and fills it with water before making his way over to the couch and sits down heavily, as if all his emotions are become weighted and are sitting on his shoulders; making him feel like an anchor. Sinking under his emotional stress.

Just as he raises the glass to his lips and takes a mouthful, the phone rings. He swallows as quickly as he can, ignoring that he basically flung the glass onto the coffee table with water falling over the sides.

“Hello?” He answers, trying not to sound too desperate.

“Hello Mr Castellanos, I'm calling about the message I was allowed to tell you earlier this evening.”

He heard her pause with a slight shuffle of papers away from the phone.  
“Everything has been approved. You are allowed to visit Joseph Oda, starting tomorrow morning after 12:00. We will have to inform you where to meet our personnel who will take you where you can meet him-“

“I can’t just drive up there myself?” he asked impatiently “I’d like to see him soon. It’s been a month”

“I completely understand. I'm not in charge though, I'm only relaying the messages to you. You will be picked up at the coordinates we’ll send you later tonight and from there we will take you in to see him. After that, a Security clearance could be arranged so you can enter any time.”

She paused yet again, taking her time to deliver the information that he craved to hear or see for four weeks. There’d been barely any sleep, and his eating habits were down the drain. The guilt, worry and absolute pain of losing both Joseph and Leslie to Ruvik was devastating. More so Joseph because there was no body. Leslie had left but disappeared without a trace and it still made Sebastian worried.

But he finally had news. There was finally information about his lost partner.  
“Sebastian, I'm sorry that we couldn't tell you sooner.” The familiar voice’s tone became personal and it itched at the back of his mind because he knew that voice but couldn't remember the face.

“Joseph had to be taken to a special hospital. He was damaged both in his mind and his body. As you can recall, he was ‘shot’ in Ruvik’s ‘mind’. He had injuries that needed to heal.”

“I understand”

I'm sure you do,” she continued and he reached for the glass of water and took a big mouthful as he continued to listen.

“Joseph has had a hard time recuperating. He didn't get to easily leave the STEM programme as you did so it had brief effects. He is mentally fine now, but he will have to stay in our care for at least another week. Once that’s done, he is free to go”

“So I’m allowed to visit him any time?”

“Yes, unless we contact you and tell you not to do so.”

“Fine. What time am I meeting your people?”

“We’ll contact you with directions and a time later tonight. Goodnight, Mr Castellanos. You’ll receive a message shortly” and the phone line went dead.  
He hung up and numbly stared at his mobile in his hand. Only a month ago he had been released from “Hospital care” for brief traumatic stress sessions with a psychiatrist to deal with everything that had happened.  
And now he was able to finally see the person who had caused him the most stress in that time.

“God damn it Joseph,” Sebastian murmured to himself as his phone buzzed, showing a message with time, date and place for the next day. “Why do you have to always be so reckless?”  
***  
Sebastian watched as a black car pulled up in front of him the next day.  
“Really?” he asked the man who opened up the door for him of the left passenger side “Do you know how typical this looks? Straight out of an action movie” Sebastian heard the driver give a chuckle as he watches Sebastian slide into the passenger seat before taking the car down the road.

“So I'm allowed to see where I'm going?” Sebastian asks slightly nervously. He half expected to have a bag placed over his head to stop him from seeing the way.

“Yep,” the driver told him “There is no reason to hide where we’re going, and anyway, you’ll be given a security clearance probably when we enter.”

“Okay then” Sebastian leant back in the seat, more comfortable than before due to knowing that everything was all right.

They drove for about half an hour due to light traffic before pulling up at a small apartment complex and driving down into the garage, where to Sebastian’s surprise found it to be quite large. But suddenly time became fast. He found himself being ushered through security checks, a few items of paperwork signed and once again taken through the ‘apartment’ block which turned out to be a huge work place of bustling people that he was lead through quickly to some of the higher levels.

By the time they suddenly arrived at two doors marked ‘Hospital and recuperation area” Sebastian suddenly found himself unable to speak.  
The realisation that he was finally able to see Joseph after all this time was finally hitting him. And to make matters worse, the two doors suddenly opened and out stepped someone rather familiar

“Sebastian”

“Kidman”

Sebastian eyed Kidman off warily. Though she’d gotten him safely out of the STEM machine last time, she was the one who had shot Joseph. Obviously she had worked undercover; knowing about everything while he and Joseph floundered around while she had to stand by and watch. It was her job. But it still made him feel uneasy about her.

“It’s been a long time”

He nodded curtly to her and noticed that she looked more relaxed, more casual than she looked when she was working with them in the KCPD.

“He’s waiting for you.” She told him, opening the door again for Sebastian and the assistant that was next to him to walk through.

“Thanks”

“No problem” she replied and wait, was that a hint of a smile? Sebastian could have sworn that he just saw her smile- but she was gone. Already walking down the corridor with her shoes click clacking away.

“Mr Castellanos? Shall we continue?” he nodded to his guide and followed her down the hallway, passing unoccupied hospital wards rooms and obvious operating rooms.

“How many people do you get in here at one time?”

“It can depend, Mr Castellanos… sometimes ten, sometimes twenty. Once we nearly had half the work force down here” she motioned down another corridor that was shorter and had only 5 doors to go inside

“ Currently, we only have three people here, and young Mr Oda is just through door number 23” She pointed at the furthest door on the left. “I believe that you’ll want to see him personally? I’ll leave you to it.”

“Thanks”

“Do you know or remember the way to the front area?” Sebastian kept looking at door marked 23 and nodded “Yes, I believe I remember.”

“Well, whenever you’re finished, please come to the entry of the Hospital area and I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thanks” She nodded with a smile and slipped out of the corridor to leave him be.

Sebastian turned to face the small corridor and suddenly felt extremely nervous. How did they get Joseph out? What if he was hurt badly and the only reason they contacted him now was because he might be dying? Could he be gravely injured?

That last thought spurred him forward, urged him to walk towards Joseph’s room, stopping slightly to gather his thoughts before pushing the door open and stepping in.

The walls were white, just like the rest of the Hospital area but it didn't have the typical hospital ‘small’ that Sebastian hated. It was a large enough room to not be crowded but to still be small enough that it didn't take up too much room in the Hospital section.

When Sebastian finally turned to face the Hospital bed, he expected to see Joseph to be lying down, heavily bruised and bandaged, but what he saw made him practically sigh with relief.

There sat Joseph, no bandage in sight. Happily propped up by a couple of pillows and waiting for Sebastian with a relaxed smile. The only thing that seemed different was the fact that Joseph was wearing a warm jumper that looked completely out of place due to his usual smart edged attire.

It look strange to see Joseph so…casual. But Sebastian liked it. It was nice to see Joseph in something other than his typical work gear.

“Sebastian, it’s nice to finally see you”

Sebastian looked at Joseph’s smiling face and almost had to hold back from rushing over and hugging him because damn, the last time he’d seen him was bleeding out in a nightmare from hell

“They only told me last night…” he trailed off, unsure if it was the right thing to say or not. His voice was gruff with holding back emotion but Joseph seemed to understand.

“They didn't let me know where I was for about two weeks, so don’t work Seb. It’s all fine now”

Sebastian flinched at the mention of the nickname ‘Seb’. He hadn't had anyone call him that since Joseph disappeared and it hurt in a strange way

“Come on, sit down” Joseph motioned to the chair in the corner or the room and Sebastian grunted in understanding and walked over and pulled it over towards the bed.

“So…how are you feeling?” Sebastian asked, not knowing how to react. He shifted awkwardly in his seat. He’d been searching for so long to find Joseph and here he was, safe and sound in a fucking Hospital while Sebastian has been wasting nights and days over the man sitting in bed right in front of him.

“I'm fine Seb…well, I was shot in the chest and that’s been healing slowly…” he trailed off but kept eye contact before continuing “I remember it completely. But I was stuck in like some mind thing, where I could barely make sense of anything…but Kidman got me”

“Kidman?”

“Yeah. She came into the thing they call STEM and pulled me out.” He shook his head and continued “Apparently they thought they unplugged me but it went wrong. My mind had been trapped in there for a few days before they worked it out…” this time he did look away. Sebastian wasn't sure if it was from embarrassment or something else, but Joseph didn't look as happy as he did before.

So Sebastian tried to change the topic to make Joseph feel more comfortable. 

“You said that you were healing from the gunshot wound. How does that work? Wasn't it imaginary?”

Joseph shrugged “You know how people died in the STEM programme because their brain was connected- so if they got ‘killed’ they’d die in real life?”

“Yeah..?”

“Well, since my mind was in there for so long, it had accepted that the gunshot  
wound was real… so I started to develop an actual gunshot wound on-“

“Wait, what?” Sebastian exclaimed, hardly wanting to believe what he was hearing “So your mind suddenly believed that you’d been shot in the chest?!”

“Yeah…That’s why I've been in here for so long- been trying to convince my mind that everything is all right. I know everything is fine, but the wound was already there.”

“How is the wound now?”

“It’s at its final stages. I should be out in a week” Joseph suddenly looked worried “Which reminds me, my apartment-“

“I had to take care of it” Sebastian huffed, crossing his arms “You have a shit landlord”

“I know” Joseph chuckled and lifted his glasses as they had slid down the bridge of his nose somewhat.

“I've got a few boxes of your stuff at my place and the rest at a storage place. They didn't remove the large pieces of furniture… now I guess I know why”

“I'm sorry that you've had to take care of some of my things… I didn't know-“

“Hey, it’s okay. I didn't mind anyway…” Sebastian didn't want to tell Joseph how he had fought against the staff at the KCPD to keep his desk and belongings He didn't want to tell Joseph that he kept his boxes of possessions that were forcefully evicted by his landlord because he was waiting to eventually find him again.

It was a painful truth; but Sebastian really didn't want to except that Joseph was dead and it ate him alive. But now it was if a breath of fresh air had filled up his lungs after a hard swim up to the surface of the ocean. It was as if he suddenly had this strange hole inside his chest filled and Sebastian could finally think straight again.

“I'm just glad you’re okay” Sebastian said quietly and looked away. Joseph said nothing but smiled in return.

“I'm glad that you’re okay. I really am”

“Hey,” Joseph’s voice was soft and reassuring. It was calming for Sebastian and it helped him to calm down “I understand. And I appreciate everything you've done for me. Kidman told me how you've been searching for me, and I want to say thanks”

Sebastian sat dumbstruck at those words. Kidman cared? He always took her for such a cold person, not really giving much emotional reaction to the people she met. But that was before Ruvik had been taken down. Maybe she was friendlier now, more human?

“No problem” then he found words forcing themselves out of his mouth without actually processing them

“Since you’re in a tight spot with your apartment, you can stay at my place when you get out if you want to” Sebastian found himself asking Joseph. He was mortified that he had suddenly asked that. What had come over him? Sure he and Joseph were good friends and partners at work but there was not fucking way that-

“Actually, Seb that would be fantastic” Sebastian felt his heart warming. “The docs told me that I needed to be somewhere to rest for at least another week and a half and they told me that somewhere I knew and felt safe at would be the best” he fell quieter as he talked, as if what he said was personal and private.

“I hope it wouldn't be too much”

“No! It would be fine” Sebastian exclaimed, as if he was now trying to convince Joseph to stay. But he knew that he didn't need to.  
Joseph sighed and leant back in his pillow, looking more relaxed than he did before.

“And anyway, it would be nice having someone around”

“Getting lonely?” Joseph asked gently. He knew how Sebastian functioned and ticked. If Sebastian was feeling lonely, then something must be seriously wrong to affect him.

“Kind of…”

“Well don’t worry. I’ll be there to make sure that doesn't happen” Sebastian looked up at Joseph. His gaze had slowly gone to the window but at Joseph’s tone, he knew something was up. He didn't want to ask his partner, but he would in time.

“Joseph, I-“but he was cut off by a knocking from the door. A nurse peaked her head in with an apologetic smile.

“I'm sorry for interrupting, but one of Mr Oda’s treatments have been pushed forward.”

Sebastian grunted in acknowledgement and felt heavily disappointed and strangely emotionally upset. He had just arrived here! It had been a bloody month of no information, no clues to where his partner had disappeared and when he was finally able to see him, he was thrown out after twenty five minutes?!

Joseph seemed to have noted Sebastian’s mood straight away, frowned and turned to the Nurse “I’ll be out there in a moment”

“All right” and she closed the door behind her

“Joseph-“

“Sebastian, calm down” Joseph lifted the covers from the bed and slowly slid off the mattress and walked to Sebastian who was still sitting with a mixed look of utter disappointment and anger on his face.

Sebastian tried to ignore the fact that Joseph was actually in not only a fuzzy jumper but also in long pyjama pants that were slightly too large for him, slightly sliding down and covering the tops of his feet as he walked over.

“I’ll be in here for another week and you know exactly where I am this time”  
Sebastian looked up at Joseph’s face. He looked the same. Same glasses, same hair- ruffled from lack of product and incredible bead head. But he had creases around his eyes that hadn't been there before. It didn't age him, it just made him look more…realistic.Normal. And it calmed Sebastian. Reminded him that yes, Joseph was finally, really and truly there.

He stood up slowly and Joseph laughed quietly, his had reached out and tugged on the overcoat that Sebastian was wearing

“Still wearing the same coat, huh?”

“Yeah. You still wearing those old glasses?” Sebastian grinned at Joseph who laughed again, rolling his eyes but kept his grip of the coat.

“Yeah, still got them.” He looked down at his hand for a moment, as if thinking heavily about something before looking up at Sebastian again

“I'm sorry that you only found out. I'm sorry that things couldn't have been easier for you while I was…gone” Joseph looked away but his suddenly clenched hand showed his emotions strongly. He was clearly upset now.

“I'm sorry that I fucked up so much when we were-“

“Joseph, calm down!” Now it was Sebastian’s turn to calm his partner down and Joseph turned his face back to Sebastian’s. His eyes were watery and obviously he was a few steps away from actually crying.

“It’s okay, we’re both here, and –“

But he never got to finish the sentence. Joseph had pulled Sebastian’s coat down, dragging the older man with him and planted his lips straight onto the older detective’s. There was a slight pause, where neither of them moved, but it didn't matter. Both knew what it meant and suddenly there was movement.

Their lips moved gently, not rushed or heavily forced but more softly than either of them would have thought. It was a loving kiss, safe and full of promise that Sebastian hadn't had in a long time. He closed his eyes as they broke apart and leant his head against Joseph’s.

The younger man sighed a content sigh. His hand still tightly gripping the coat, but not with fear or worry, it was a soft grip. As if he needed to remind himself that he was still in reality.

“Been holding that in long?” Sebastian muttered with a chuckle and Joseph returned it “You have no idea” he whispered.

“Mr Oda? It would be great if we could get started soon” the Nurse’s voice travelled through the door, breaking the quiet moment apart.

They both lifted their heads and looked at each other. They both knew what that moment had meant to each other and neither wanted it to be any different.

“I’ll be here” Joseph whispered and he leant his head against Sebastian’s chest, letting Sebastian hold him for the first time.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be here. And you can phone me any time and I’ll answer”

“I know…”

“So let me go, and everything will be all right” Sebastian snorted “Not a chance. I'm not letting you get out of my sight again”

“Sebastian,” Joseph pulled away with a stern but loving gaze in his eyes

“Oh you know what I mean” Sebastian shrugged and scratched his head, feeling slightly awkward but also incredibly happy.  
Joseph laughed, pushed his glasses up again and leant in for a brief kiss on Sebastian’s cheek “Don’t worry, Seb. It’ll be fine.”

“I know” He watched as Joseph finally let go of his coat and walked towards the door. He pushed it open to walk out before turning around and saying “I am glad that…everything worked out”

“Me to.” Sebastian said sincerely before Joseph smiled a small smile and turned around and followed the Nurse down the hall.

Sebastian stood there for a few minutes, holding his hand to his mouth and wondering how the hell did I not notice my emotions to him before today?  
But he was happy. Content. Joseph had been found and was healing. It was time for Sebastian to slowly heal too.

As he walked slowly down the hallway to where his guide from before was waiting for him, all Sebastian could think was “this exactly what we both need…how did we not see it before’ and followed his guide out of the building, knowing that before long, everything would be back to normal.

But better. Way better than before.


End file.
